1. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Cancun. Cabinet was appreciative of the performance of the Mauritian delegation, led by the Minister of Industry and International Trade and the Minister of Agriculture, Food Technology & Natural Resources, in defending the interest of Mauritius, as well as of their being instrumental in the creation of a new group comprising countries of the ACP, the African Union and the Least Developed Countries, which together represent the majority of members of the WTO.
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2. Cabinet has taken note of the recent changes in the management of Air Mauritius and Mauritius Telecoms and has extended its full support to the new managing team of the two organizations.
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3. In the light of the offer of the Government of India to extend funding support for the construction of the Conference Centre at Domaine les Pailles, Cabinet has taken note of progress made in the implementation of the Project which would enable Mauritius to host the International Meeting on the Review of the Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for Small Island Developing States.
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4. Cabinet has taken note that the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council has updated its report on the level one assessment exercise on the basis of data provided by 35 enterprises representing 60% of garment exports. The data has shown that the condition of certain enterprises, especially in the knitwear sector, is cause for concern. With a view to providing guidance to the ACP Textile Sector Study, TEST has submitted the report to the ACP/EU Centre for Development of Enterprises. TEST will now formulate policy recommendations, together with an Action Plan, for discussion by the Policy Intervention Committee on Textile.
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5. Cabinet has taken note of the reform currently being undertaken in the Customs and Excise Department and has agreed to extend its full support to the Comptroller of Customs in furthering the reform process.
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6. Cabinet has taken note of the status of the exercise being carried out by the National Transport Authority to regularize the situation of genuine operators of “Taxi Marrons”.
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7. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the fruitful negotiations between the European Commission and the Mauritian delegation, led by the Secretary for Home Affairs, on the Agreement on fishing in the waters of Mauritius.
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8. Cabinet has reviewed the holding of the Commonwealth Head of Governments Meeting in Nigeria in December next, and has taken note of the request of Australia and a few other States not to invite Zimbabwe at the meeting. Cabinet has agreed to follow up on the matter and to consult India, UK, South Africa, Nigeria and Australia in that connection.
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9. Cabinet has taken note that the following events will be held in Mauritius:-
(a) a regional workshop on the “Use of the Male Annihilation Techniques to control the Tephritid Fruit Flies” organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency from 17 to 21 November 2003 with a view to providing hands-on training on the use of male annihilation techniques to control Tephritid fruit flies;
(b) the Seventh Ozone Depleting Substances Officers Network/Africa English and French Joint Meeting from 29 September to 2 October 2003. The main aim of the network is to exchange information and experience, as well as cooperation, among Government officers in charge of strategies to phase out ozone depleting substances;
(c) a regional training course on Standards and System Planning in Digital TV organized by the Mauritius College of the Air, in collaboration with the Deutsche Welle Television Centre of Berlin, from 8 to 28 September, with a view to enhancing the knowledge and skills of local and foreign African participants in the audio visual fields;
(d) a regional Seminar on L’Evaluation des acquis et l’élaboration des Manuels Scolaires en termes de Compétence organized by the Agence Intergouvermentale de la Francophonie, in collaboration with the Mauritius Institute of Education, on 13 and 14 November 2003; and
(e) the Second International Writers’ Conference from 29 September to 3 October 2003.
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10. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Health and Quality of Life will make the Medical Council (Medical Institutions) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations to include the following institutions in the list of recognized Medical Institutions –
(a) Peking University Health Science Centre (formerly known as Beijing Medical University);
(b) St. George’s University School of Medicine; and
(c) Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
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11. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the missions of –
(a) the Minister of Health and Quality of Life to South Africa where he attended the 53rd WHO Regional Committee for Africa from 1 to 5 September;
(b) the Minister of Arts and Culture to India where he signed a programme for cultural cooperation between Mauritius and India for the years 2003 to 2005; and
(c) the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice & Human Rights to Cairo where he participated in the Conference Ministerielle Regionale des Etats Francophones d’Afrique pour la Promotion de la Ratification de la Convention des Nations Unies contre la Criminalité Transnationale Organisée et des Protocoles from 2 to 4 September.
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